Bombay High Court grants bail to five in plot to attack Pune Sunburn festival

The Bombay High Court recently granted bail to five persons accused of conspiring to attack Pune's Sunburn Festival in 2017 [Sujith Kumar Rangaswami and Ors v.State of Maharashtra]..The Court cited prolonged incarceration without trial, insufficient evidence to establish a conspiracy and the presumption of innocence as reasons for the decision.The appellants—Sujith Kumar Rangaswami, Amit Ramchandra Baddi, Ganesh Dashrath Miskin, Shrikant Jagannath Pangarkar, and Bharat Jaywant Kurane—were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Kalachowki, Mumbai, in 2018. They were alleged to be members of right wing organisations and were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosive Substances Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and the Maharashtra Police Act. .A division bench, comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande, emphasised the significance of speedy trial. "All the accused persons are arrested in the year 2018 and as on date, though the trial has commenced, only two witnesses have been examined out of 417 witnesses," the order stated. The Court also noted that since September 2023, no witnesses had been examined by the prosecution, casting doubt on the timely completion of the trial..The case against the accused stemmed from an investigation that began with the arrest of Sharad Kalaskar and Vaibhav Raut, from whose residences arms, ammunition and explosives were seized. The ATS later arrested twelve more individuals, including the appellants, accusing them of planning to disrupt the Sunburn Festival scheduled between December 26-31, 2017, by throwing petrol bombs and creating ruckus using firearms..The prosecution alleged that the accused were active members of organizations like 'Sanatan Sanstha' and 'Hindu Janjagruti Samiti' and were motivated by a desire to oppose anti-Hindu elements. However, the Court observed that the alleged plan was never executed, and the festival concluded without any disturbance. The defence argued that there was no recovery of incriminating articles from the appellants, and the accusations were based solely on the statements of co-accused, which lacked independent corroboration.."The statements of distinct witnesses, which form part of the charge-sheet, as well as the statements recorded under Section 164, are insufficient to establish the charge of conspiracy against the Appellants," the Court noted. Additionally, the Court highlighted the disparity in bail decisions, pointing to the release of co-accused Avinash Pawar by the Supreme Court despite facing similar charges..The court's order underscored the principle of presumption of innocence and the need to balance the seriousness of the charges with the period of custody already endured by the accused. "The minimum sentence that can be awarded under the provisions of the UAPA is 5 years and the same can extend up to life imprisonment. The appellant is in custody and has been incarcerated for the last 5 years," the Court quoted from a previous order..The Court, therefore, granted bail subject to personal bond of ₹50,000 with one solvent surety of the same amount for each appellant. The appellants have to attend the ATS Kalachowki, Mumbai on the first Monday of every month and must appear before the trial court on every date without seeking adjournments. .Advocates Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, Sanjiv Punalekar, Jyoti Ghorpade, Karan L. Jain for the appellants. Additional Public Prosecutor JP Yagnik for the State..[Read Judgment]